ᐅ Construction of a driveway using gravel, crushed stone, and paving stones?

Hi everyone,

What is the recommended construction for the subbase of the driveway?
Our excavation contractor will be back soon with the excavator to install the utility lines. At the same time, he will level the driveway to the correct height.

His rough rule-of-thumb suggestion for driveable surfaces:

25–30 cm (10–12 inches) crushed stone
5 cm (2 inches) gravel
8 cm (3 inches) paving stones
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38–43 cm (15–17 inches) total build-up

His rough rule-of-thumb suggestion for pedestrian paths:

15 cm (6 inches) crushed stone
5 cm (2 inches) gravel
8 cm (3 inches) paving stones
----------
28 cm (11 inches) total build-up

The foundations for the carport are already in place and are significantly deeper. This buildup would only apply to the paved surfaces.

Does this seem reasonable?

Thanks and best regards,
Andreas

For a non-driveable terrace, we installed a 30 cm (12 inches) gravel base. On top of that, we laid a weed control membrane, followed by 5 cm (2 inches) of crushed stone and 5 cm (2 inches) terrace slabs.

I believe that for a driveway, a much thicker gravel base than 25–30 cm (10–12 inches) is necessary. If I remember correctly, my civil engineer recommended 60 cm (24 inches). (This is scheduled for our property next year once the street construction is completed.)

We have 30cm (12 inches) of gravel and 4-5cm (1.5-2 inches) of crushed stone topped with the surface layer everywhere. However, underneath there was always natural soil.

We had the gravel installed directly by the excavation contractor. This way, you also have reasonably clean paths when moving in. Proper compaction is very important. It’s best to ask your excavation contractor if they have a good vibratory plate compactor.

With capillary-breaking gravel (we used 0-32mm), in my opinion, you can skip the weed membrane.

For the terrace, be careful: the paving slabs are usually only about 5cm (2 inches) thick, so the base beneath them generally needs to be 3cm (1 inch) higher than on the footpaths.

Hello Andimann,

Our landscaping contractor has just started work at our place. Our subbase in the driveway area is frost-protected with a depth of 60cm (24 inches), filled with recycled crushed limestone (RCL). On top of that comes crushed stone, followed by the surface layer. This is important for the load-bearing capacity of the driveway. In the terrace area, we also have a 30cm (12 inches) subbase.

Best regards,
Rina

Hi,
under the driveway we only have partially undisturbed soil left, as part of this area was the excavation pit.

Hmm... now we have measurements between 30-60 cm (12-24 inches)??!

Our driveway will be about 100 sqm (1,076 sq ft) and the terrace around 40 sqm (430 sq ft), so an additional 30 cm (12 inches) of gravel already adds up to a significant cost...

I’ve already contacted landscaping contractors, but currently it’s absolutely hopeless here. They don’t even bother answering the phone or giving a personal response. They all say their schedules are full for the next few years or some have apparently closed due to being overwhelmed.

So we will have to do the driveway ourselves, which is why I’m asking.

Best regards,

Andreas

Where you have undisturbed soil, 30cm (12 inches) should be more than enough.
Where the excavation was, you should make sure that the soil is properly compacted.

We also had our planned areas covered with crushed stone and compacted by the civil engineer, and then we carried out the construction of the paths and terrace ourselves. With some basic DIY skills, this works well.